First Thousand Words In French

Book Review

Title:	First Thousand Words In  French
Author:	Heather Amery, Nicole  Irving and Stephen Cartwright
Publisher:	E D C Publications, Tulsa, Ok.
ISBN:	0-74602-305-7
Reviewed By:	Frank Fogg
Review Date:	August, 2000
Rating:

The First Thousand Words In  French is a child's picture encyclopedia of French words. The themes that are  covered are things that children can easily relate to - animals, colors, home and school. The book is a hardcover edition of approximately 65 pages.

The  book contains three different learning formats. In one format, a location is  illustrated inside of a page border. In the border itself are objects to find  within the picture. Each item is identified by the corresponding French word. The second format identifies a theme and then shows pictures of things that  fit with that theme. Finally, a complete list of the words in the book along  with their English equivalent and a pronunciation key is included at the end.

Each page is colorfully illustrated. The illustrator uses characterizations of people extensively, and these pictures are particularly well drawn with numerous facial expressions and poses. These characterizations are mostly children participating in activities that children  enjoy. The illustrator also pays attention to the backgrounds with things such  as birds, clouds and trees adding life to each drawing.

For the pages that the reader locates  the objects from the border in the picture, there are approximately 25 things  to locate per page. Each of the theme pages also includes about the same number  of illustrations. As mentioned earlier, the reader can locate the English translation of any of the words in the pronunciation key should there be any doubt of the  word's meaning. Most of the illustrations are fairly straightforward and should  not require reference to the key.

The content of this book seems to  be targeted to younger children, but to get the full benefit of the material will require a French speaking adult or teacher to help the child with the words.  The pronunciation key is of limited value unless one has already heard the word  from another source or is familiar with the French Language. Another problem is that young children tend to get bored easily and quickly lose interest in  this material when presented in a non-structured setting. Mature children and  early teenagers may appreciate using this book as a supplement to a school language  course -- the content is more appropriate for self-study at these ages.

This book has colorful illustrations that children will enjoy and it covers a wide variety of topics. It is appropriate for use when an adult can guide the child through the activities, or for mature  children and early teenagers in a self-paced environment.

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